Death is but the next Great Adventure
by cinnamon2315
Summary: Master of Death being reborn. Part one of the rebirth series.
1. Meeting Death

Harry woke with a groan to the feeling of the cold, hard ground beneath him. As he opened his eyes all he saw was white. He wondered how he had got there. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in bed with Ginny, his wife of 66 years.

As he sat up he distantly noticed that his body moved easier and faster than it had in years. When he looked around he noticed that he was back at the pure white, perfectly clean and empty Kings Cross Station where he had spoken to Dumbledore after Voldemort hit him with the killing curse the second time.

He stood up and looked around but he saw nothing but endless white and the horizon fading into fog. When he stood up he turned around and walked to wherever his feet led him. After awhile (he wasn't sure how much time had passed because time traveled weirdly here) he started seeing arches on either side of him with different colored light coming from them. When he saw the first one he stopped and studied it, but he couldn't tell anything from it or the dull grey light coming from it other than the fact it reeked of unfamiliar magic, magic that he had never come across before. When he realized that he would got no more out of it he continued on his way. After sometime he noticed that the distance between each one was growing shorter. He finally came to a spot where there was less than two feet between each arch. He noticed that someone was there, sitting on the ground, waiting for him. It was a girl with pure white hair and skin so pale that if he couldn't see her hands playing with something he would have thought her dead. The fact that her clothes were pure black made her seem paler. As he drew closer to her, she looked up and he was startled to to notice that she looked no older than 8 with her bright blue doe eyes, spread wide in surprise.

"Master," she said, in a surprisingly mature voice for the age she looked, as she stood up. "I didn't expect you to find me so quickly."

"I noticed," he said as he drew to a stop 5 feet from her. He noticed, with surprise, that his voice sounded a lot younger than he remembered it to. "Master?" He asked as the first part of her statement caught up to him.

"Of course," she said like it was obvious. "I am Hel, Osiris, Thanatos, Mors, Anguta… you know me as Death, and you are my master."

"Why am I here?" He asked.

"You died in your sleep." She answered. "But because you are my master I can't claim your soul. You are here to be reborn."

"Reborn?" He asked, slightly scared of her response. "How will that work?"

"Oh yes." She said decidedly too cheerful for a time like this. "You just pick an arch and you will be reborn in a new universe, with your powers and a similar body, until you die again and choose a new universe to be reborn in again."

"So I just, pick one, it's as simple as that?" He asked still in shock.

"Yep," she said with a smile. "I suggest that one." She pointed to a dull pink one as she went on. "Calm, simple, no magic. Perfect for your first time being reborn. A very simple universe to get used to the changes and differences. There are a couple others like it that I suggest you go to the next couple times. I'll point them out the next time you're here. But for now, off you go." She said as she ushered him into the dull pink arch. "You'll be born on July 31st and your scar will appear on the halloween after your first birthday. I will gift you this necklace with the deathly hallow sign on your third birthday and with you you will be able to summon the three hallows to you at any time." She continued as she held up the thing she had been playing with, which was a silver deathly hallows sign and three thin black strips of leather braided into a necklace.

As he tripped into the dull pink arch. He watched her smile fade away until all he could see was black. Then the dizzy feeling in his his head took over and he passed out until he woke up to cold air and a brand new, completely different world from his own.


	2. Fate's meddling

This was Harry's 42nd life. After the tenth life he had got used to the different lives. His favorite part was being able to grow up with parents. He had been born to a family that thought they would never be able to have kids, so he was spoilt. He loved his parents very much but they were old when he was born and by the time he was 24 his father had already passed on. His mother had died 3 days ago and he was currently at her funeral. He was 28 and an orphan once again. In most of his lives he had lost his parents by the time he was 30, a couple of his lives he had been orphaned at a very young age, so he really appreciated the lives where he had both parents until he was at least 20.

After the first time being reborn, almost every life he had lived so far had some type of magic in the culture. Some of the worlds he had gone to loved magic and embraced their magic users, but most of the worlds he had gone to hated magic and killed anyone suspected of being a magic user. His current world had the latter culture for one main reason: this world used to have a much larger population that embraced any magic that came to the community. One magic wielder came from a different planet and wanted to rule the entire population, the people called him The Dark One. They refused to be ruled and a small group of insurgents attacked him to try to stop him from ruling the planet. He got mad at them and decimated more than 95% of the population of the world. Before the Dark One came and destroyed the population they had no natural magic users, but the planet was covered in uncontrolled natural magic that was beginning to be controllable. Now they have a culture that kills any and every person suspected of using magic and the magic is every more uncontrollable, any magic he did backfired on him.

The funeral was different, it was done according to the culture here. They dressed his mother up in her best clothes and set her body on a large rectangular prism made of the surrounding jungle wood and burnt her body until nothing but ash remained. He wished he had more time with her than the 28 years he had enjoyed. He didn't want to watch as his mother wash burned, it so sharply reminded him why he couldn't perform magic here, so he studied the beauty of the rainforest surrounding him. The rainforest reminded him of his honeymoon with his first wife, the tall trees and exotic plants. The town he lived in here was like the towns he saw in the rainforest there, everyone lived in open-air huts with all the bedrooms underground, so they say cool.

After the body was burned and nothing but ashes remained, the adults of the town collected the ashes in a barrel, made of the finest wood the jungle had to offer and shined until the reflection would blind you if you looked directly at it, made specifically for funerals. The entire town, roughly 200 people, gathered on the edge of the cliff the town stood on for the spreading of the ashes. The spreading of the ashes had a special ritual that the eldest of the town's council of elders performed, which in this case was Skirnir of the house of Leif. The 2 suns were shining brightly down on the cliff's edge and the barrel was too bright to look at. He was at the front of the group as the only living relative of the deceased. His head was bowed and his eyes closed as he struggled against the tears that threatened to escape. He was not allowed to look at anyone for a week after her death because the people here believe that the soul of the deceased stays with a relative and can become a wrath if that relative looks at anyone. His mind went over the last memories of his mother he had as the Elder's words washed over him. The Elder stood in front of everyone on the edge of the cliff dressed in the traditional black robes that reached floor and left an odd pattern in the dust when he walked anywhere. He spoke of peace in the afterlife and his wish for blessings of Hayot (Life) and Olim (Death) to her soul and her family. The ritual was beautiful, as always, and very tradition; the Elder had said the same things as he said in the last funerals he presided over. As the ritual drew to a close the two town males most recently married tipped the barrel over. The ashes flew from the barrel and made a dark cloud of ash that covered the suns' shining rays.

After the ritual was finished, the townspeople left to continue their day. As they left the cliff's edge they stopped to give him their condolences on his mother's passing. He stayed at the cliff's edge as the cloud floated down to the rapids below. And, when the cloud had faded from view and his tears dried from his face, he left the cliff and went back to the house he had shared with his mom until her death 3 days ago. After the death he had to move into the church for the time between her death and funeral, as the elders smoked and cleaned the house of any of her lingering spirit.

The house was the same as it had been before her death, but it had a faint smell of lavender. The door opened up to the kitchen and the walls were still the light blue color they had been when he was last in the house. The kitchen table was in the middle of the room and the dark color of the wood from the surrounding jungle and the 4 chairs around the table were the same color. He took off his own black robe as he walked to one of the chairs. He pulled out the chair closest to him and flopped down in it. He tied his shoulder length black hair up and rubbed his bright emerald green eyes, as he fought the tears that were threatening to spill. He had gotten to the point where he thought one of his parents might be with him on his 30th birthday this time. He had never had a parent survive to his 30th birthday in any of his lives. He looked at the only picture in the kitchen, it was of his entire family just weeks before his father had died. He remembered that time and couldn't stop the tears from falling down his face and onto the un-polished hardwood floor.

When he was done crying he got up and started dinner. He made himself some maymum (a monkey-like animal) and guruch (a rice-like grain). When he was finished eating he boiled some water for a bath. After his bath he had to throw the water out and do some light cleaning before he could go to bed. His bedroom was the smaller of the two bedroom that were dug into the floor and covered in wooden planks. His bed was just cotton stuffed in fabric bag and put on a platform made of jungle wood. It wasn't very comfortable, but he had slept on worst.

* * *

The next morning when he woke up, he went for a walk through the rainforest. The rainforest was full of many different plant and animals and was very densely populated. The rainforest was very large, but he could navigate it better than anyone else in the town. He thought that was because of all the complicated places he had had to navigate in his past lives. He had gotten used to having to remember thing about places to get anywhere.

He was wandering around the forest when he heard a bloodcurdling scream. He broke out into a run, without a care for the tree branches hitting him in the face or the leaves staining his face green, and got to the place the scream come from in 30 seconds, it was a spot where a yaguar (an animal like a jaguar) had made a den recently. He had found it while exploring the jungle the day his mother died, and just remembered it and that he forgot to tell the council of elders about it. When he got there noticed Freya of the house of Leif, she was the Elder's eleven year old granddaughter, was being circled by the yaguar. They were in the clearing where the yaguar's den was and Freya was cowering in the middle of the clearing with a bouquet of wild, large flowered flowers in her hand. He stopped at the edge of the clearing they were in and assessed the situation, trying to figure a way to get them both out without using magic or hurting the yaguar. As he was thinking and before he was able to come up with a plan the yaguar pounced, causing Freya to scream once again and for him to react on instinct. He instinctually, magically stopped the yaguar mid-pounce and sprinted over to Freya. He picked her up and run toward the village, dropping the yaguar when they were far enough away that it wouldn't come after them.

When he was almost to the town he stopped and put Freya down. He knelt in front of her, looked her in the eyes, and told her, "you can't tell anyone how I rescued you, ok? If the town found out they would execute me in the town square, alright?"

"Okay, I won't tell anyone." She answered with a quiver in her voice and a serious expression on her face.

"Not even your parents? If you don't think you can keep that from your parents I can adjust your memories so you have no memory of magic." He said trying to be sympathetic to her, but also impress upon her the seriousness of the situation.

"I promise, and if I think I can't handle it I will come to you." she promised, sounding very sincere.

"Ok," He said. " Now, lead the way to your house. I'm sure your parents have been very worried about you."

* * *

When they got to the village he was holding hands with Freya and she was leading the way to her house. Her house was one of the biggest in town and it was very close to the center of town. The size and placement of the house showed their relationship with the Elder and that her father would be taking Skinir's spot on the council of elders when Skinir dies. The council of elders is called that because it is comprised of the eldest sons of the founding families. Many of the families living in the village were part of one of the founding families, they just weren't part of the inheriting line, some of the families had moved here before the Dark One came and settled, but now they couldn't leave, they were trapped here because they no longer had the technology to get out of the rainforest. After the Dark One came the culture reverted back to a more primitive culture and less advanced technology because they didn't have the people to keep a more advanced culture going. The one thing they did keep going though is the force field around the planet to keep unwanted visitors out, which now included everyone, no matter where they come from.

When they got within 20 yards of her house, she dropped his hand and ran into the house yelling for her mother and father. When her parents got to her they both picked her up and hugged her like their lives depended on it. She is their only child and they can't have any more children. She will take her father's spot on the council when he dies, if she doesn't have any sons by then.

Her parents looked like most of the townspeople, with their long dark brown hair, their dark skin, and their dark eyes. They were both descended from the council of elders, so they had the high cheekbones and the aristocratic face structure.

They both looked at her with love and her mother stayed with Freya, hugging Freya to her chest, while her father got up and walked over to Harry. Her father got to him and stuck out his hand for Harry to shake. Harry took his hand and shook it, while trying not to seem nervous.

"Thank you for saving my daughter," He said.

"It was no problem," Harry said. "I heard her scream and found being attacked by a Yaguar. It was instinct to protect her from the animal."

"We will never be able to thank you enough. If there is anything you need, just ask," He said sounding pleased and very thankful.

"Really, it was nothing. I don't need anything," Harry said, backing up and looking uncomfortable.

Harry left and went home for the rest of the day. Where he had maymum and grunch for lunch and dinner, slept, packed up his mother's things, cried over his losses, and worried over whether Freya would say anything.

* * *

Three days later

Harry woke to knocking at his door. He wasn't expecting any visitors today. He still wasn't allowed to look at anyone, so no one was visiting him. When he got to the door he noticed that they person on the other side of the door was Freya, she looked very nervous, she was ringing her hands in her dress and she had a nervous frown on her face. As soon as she heard the door open she stopped fidgeting and turned her face so she was looking at the door and not her feet.

He invited her in when she asked if she could talk to him. They sat at the table and she returned to staring at her feet and ringing her hands. She couldn't seem to find her words. So he asked, " What did you want to talk about?"

She seemed to get some courage from his gentle and understanding tone of voice, because she looked up and blurted out what she wanted to say. "I'm sorry," she said with a look on her face pleading him to understand as she looked him in the eyes. "I didn't mean to tell them. They just kept asking about what happened."

The look on face screamed that he didn't understanding what she was talking about. "What do you mean?" He asked, confused. "Who did you tell and what did you tell them?"

She looked scared as she looked at her lap and said, "my parents, I told them about how you stopped the yaguar and saved me. My Grandfather, Skinir is gathering the townspeople right now."

He looked startled as the implications of that sentence sunk in. He cursed and jumped up, looking for a way out of town that wasn't down the main road. Freya looked frightened as she watched him pace back and forth, knowing that he was in trouble.

When he noticed the fright on her face he told her, "It's not your fault, don't worry about it. I was bound to be found out eventually."

"I am scared that something bad will happen to you now that they know." She said trying to act like she wasn't scared to her very core.

He reassured her that it wasn't her fault and that nothing too bad would happen to him. When she was more in control of her emotions he sent her back to her house and immediately ran out the back door and into the rainforest.

When he was in the rainforest he ran away from the town and after he ran for a couple minutes he heard the sound of the townspeople screaming for blood and his house burning down. He ran through the rainforest without a care for the trees on either side of him or the leaves hitting him in the face. He was running like Death was after him, but if that was all it was, he would just turn around and greet her. No, he was running like the hounds of hell were on his heals. He was running but it wasn't from Death or the hounds of hell, it was from the townspeople. They were after his blood and there was nothing he could do to stop them. He couldn't apparate because the magic of the planet was so uncontrollable that if he tried there was a large chance that he would splinch.

His worst fear had come true Skinir was leading the townspeople on a chase for him. If they caught him he would be burned at the stake or something else equally as barbaric. He didn't want to die in such a painful way, if there was a way he could change it. He knew his way around better than anyone and he was running to the cliff on the edge of town where they had spread his mother's ashes.

He could control how he died this time and he would not die in such a painful way. When he got to the cliff he stops at the edge, just where his mother's ashes were spread. He turns to the pursuing villagers and watches as they all attempt to avoid his gaze, some even fall down in their attempt to avoid eye contact. He heard a laugh and turned his head toward the edge of the rainforest, where he sees Freya hiding behind some trees. She made eye contact with Harry and starts crying because she knows he will jump. He can see the villagers all moving toward him, while looking out of the corner of their eyes in an attempt to avoid eye contact. Freya raises her hand and a flower, like the ones she was collecting before she got attacked by the yaguar, appears in her hand. It was her way of letting him go. He made his choice just before the mob reached him and jumped. He was weightless for a second before he fell, and then all he could see was the foam of the white rapids below.

* * *

When he woke up he was once again in the pure white, perfectly clean and empty Kings Cross Station where he had ended up the last 42 times he died. As he sat up he saw Hel sitting next to him and waiting for him to get up. She was sat there with her legs crossed and watching him for any sign of waking. When she saw he was awake, she jumped up and started talking a mile-a-minute. One thing he had learned from the last 42 times he died, was that she was very excitable and energetic, which he thought was kinda odd since she was the personification of Death.

"...So now that you have gotten used to the changes and the different cultures and having to hide some parts of yourself you can start going to the worlds where you are more needed…" She said as she babbled on.

"Wait, wait. What?!" I asked as I caught up to what she was saying.

"Well, yes. These last worlds were to get you used to having to hide and the changes from world to world. Now that you have gotten used to them you can start going to the worlds more like your own and that need your help to not destroy themselves. They will all have their own secret worlds like the wizarding world or similar to the wizarding world. You will be going in to keep these secret worlds from killing off the normal people and destroying the world." She said with one of the brightest smile he had ever seen on her face.

"So you mean that you were teaching me and testing me the last times I have been reborn?" He asked as he was trying to wrap his mind around it. It was unexpected and he had no idea how she could have been testing him when the worlds he had gone to were very rough and on most of them something bad was going on that he always got caught up in somehow.

"Well, yes, all but the first ten times. Then I was easing you into the position and letting you get used to the basics. Now, Fate is telling me that there are universes where you are needed and I think that you are ready to help them." She said with patience in her voice and a smile on her face.


End file.
